Friday, 22 February 2019
Justice Gone by N. Lombardi Jr
Release Date: 22nd February 2019
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Genres: Mystery /Thriller
Justice Gone, a mystery/legal thriller which publishes February 22, 2019, touches upon many topical, controversial issues in today's society as well as being a thrilling and engaging read. The story encapsulates current social issues: police brutality, homelessness, the plight of returning war veterans, the frenzy of the press, and the mechanics of the US judicial system.
"When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down.
A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran's counselor, is caught up in the chase.
Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa's patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers gets there first, leading to Darfield's dramatic capture.
Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge?”
Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr. Tessa Thorpe.
"When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down.
A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran's counselor, is caught up in the chase.
Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa's patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers gets there first, leading to Darfield's dramatic capture.
Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge?”
Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr. Tessa Thorpe.
GUEST POST
Somewhere along my
internet travels I came across this story: a homeless man beaten to death by
police. What struck me was that the man was Caucasian, and I had already been
conditioned by the news media that African-Americans were the chief victims of
police brutality. The unfortunate individual was not a violent thug nor
hardened criminal, but a rather frail person whose only offence was that he was
an eyesore. Shirtless, with an unkempt beard, his crime was loitering. And of course, the manner of his death, being
pummeled to death, stands notoriously apart from the usual police shootings.
Eventually, I came
across a series of YouTube videos that documented this event. There was a video
recording taken from a closed circuit TV camera at the adjacent bus stop
showing the beating, a silent witness to a brutal act.
An internet search
yielded more videos, more articles, more stories chronicling the event: the
press conference held by the victim's father, the grand jury indictments of the
police officers involved and their eventual trial where, astonishingly, they
were acquitted. The fact that they were indicted and brought to trial at all
was a precedent - up to that time no police officer had ever been prosecuted
for excessive force in the history of Orange County, a tradition that likely
imparted a sentiment of impunity on the part of the accused officers when they
were partaking in their vicious act.
This incident was the
seed from which my novel, Justice Gone,
sprouted.
In my research on the
homeless, I found out some shocking facts: that an average of 3.5 million
Americans live on the streets. Thirty-five percent of the homeless population
are families with children, which is the fastest growing segment of the
homeless population. Twenty-three percent are U.S. military veterans and
twenty-five percent are children under the age of eighteen years. On the other
side of the coin, small towns just can’t afford to take care of these people
without some help from the federal government, and neither can they withstand
the social and economic impact of their presence.
Despite all these
serious undercurrents, Justice Gone,
as a piece of commercial fiction, is meant to entertain. The novel takes the
form as a whodunit that culminates in a courtroom drama, and ends with a
chilling finale.
The third part of the
novel offers a detailed look at the American justice system, from arraignment
and bail bond hearing to the announcement of the verdict. Included is a chapter
dedicated to the jury's deliberation, a drama reminiscent of Reginald Rose's 12 Angry Men, and indeed I did I watch
the film for inspiration.
Once again, I uncovered
some disturbing facts during my research. In New Jersey, as an example, 38
percent of the people incarcerated are those that couldn’t meet their bail
bond. The overwhelming majority of them are guilty of municipal violations -
unpaid parking tickets, driving with a suspended license, a few sticks of
marijuana…none of whom pose a threat. I also learned the strategic role of
demographics when picking a jury, how prosecutors will go to all lengths to
keep African-Americans off the jury, since they tend to be sympathetic with the
downtrodden and the underdogs, i.e. the defendant.
Needless to say,
writing Justice Gone was an
educational experience.
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